Filter element



June 27, 1944.y E. c. WALKER ET A1.

FILTER ELEMENT Original Filed Sept. 27, 1938 wall vIIi lying closely adjacent `the wall I3.

Patented June 27, 1944 Earl c. walker, Almen, cuir., and Foster Buck,

Lisle, 1li., assignors to International Harvester Company, a corporation of New Jersey original application september 21, 193s, serial No. 231,954. Divided and this application July 9, 1943, semi No. 494,96

'z claims. v (ci. 21o- 169) This invention relates to illters and particularly to oil lters for use in connection with an automotive internal combustion engine. The present application is a division of our copending application Serial No. 231,954, filed September 2'1,l 1938, for Filter elements.

' Attempts have been made to use replaceable illters made of paper or similar material which could be cheaply made whereby they could be discarded and replaced at frequent intervals. Diiilculties have been encountered, however, which have not been solved by elements satisfactory to function in a satisfactory manner for the desired length of time.

The object of the present invention is to provide a filter of molded material such, for example, as iiber used in iilter paper construction oiga design satisfactory for use in a iilter of the automotive type.

Another object is to provide such a iilter having an extensive area in a relatively small casing whereby oil may be iiltered at a sufficient rate and whereby the life of the lter is suflicient to meet requirements.

Another object is to provide a illter oi relative- 1y thin fibrous composition which` is so con- 'ange l1 integrally formed with the wall I6 is adapted to extend outwardly over the iiange I2.

A cover I8 having an outwardly extending flange v I9 mating with the ilange, I2 forms a closure for the casing. An inlet in the cover I8 provides means for delivering oil to be filtered under pressure to the casing IB.

As illustrated in the drawing, the element A includes two upwardly extending double cylindrical'wall portions 2| and 24 integral with each other and with annular bottom portions 25, 26,

and a circular bottom portion 21. These wall portions, as 2 I, are tubular hollow-wall structures or envelopes having an annular outlet or discharge passage at their junction with the base portions 25, 26, and 21. Consequently, these annular outlets may be considered either as in the lower ends of the tubular wall structures or in the base made up oi the portions 25, 26, and 21.

structed that it is self-supporting to resist a It is to be understood that any number of the vertically extending double wall portions 2i and' 2t may be utilized. A screen 28 is shown resting on the bottom It of the casing.' This screen is positioned to support the circular portion 21 against oil pressure within the casing during filtration and to provide a ilow passage for iiltered oil from the double wall portions 2l and from the casing wall.

The iilter element A may be constructed of any brous material having a surface which is corrugated. roughened, or otherwise of a nature to allow oil to pass between two adjacent layers orbetween a layer and a wall of the casing. As il- Figure 2 is a partial pian view and partial section taken on the line 2-2 of Figure i;

Figure 3 is an elevation, on a reduced scale, showing the removal of a lter element from its casing;

Figure 4 is an enlargedvview of a portion of the element near one of the folds to. show the spacing projections and the path of the oil during filtration; and

Figure 5 is an elevation of an inside roughened wall portion of the lter element.

Referring to Figure l, an open top cylindrical casing III-is provided'with an outlet Il at the bottom and an outwardly extending ange I2 at the top. The casing has a cylindrical interior wa11 |3 and a flat bottom wall I4, an outlet conduit l5 communicatingwith the bottom wall at "the center thereof. A illter element A is shaped to fit in the casing I0 with an outer cylindrical iustrated on an enlarged scale in Figures 4 and A5, the material of the element is shown asbeing provided with spacing means .formed as a plu- ,rality or small corrugations to provide space for and to enhance the flow of iiltered liquid downwardly between the contacting walls. The concentric upstanding double wail portions 2i and 2t are spaced from the casing wall portion and from each other to provide annular spaces sunlcient to hold anA amount of sludge, slime, and other illteredv particles-which accumulate during normal life vof the filter. To illustrate the depositing of material ltered out duringoperation,

' sludge 29 has been indicated along the exterior sides of the upstanding concentric hollow-wall portions of the iilter element.

When the lter element has reached the end oi its eiIective life or when the number o! hours removed and the filter element A is taken from the casing by grasping the flange l1 around the edge as illustrated in Figure 3. Said iiangeis not coated with material illtered out during operation so that the entire element containing the :filtered-out material may'be removed en masse and discarded without contacting or disturbing the sludge and without any required cleaning or any possibility of contaminating the casing or the system with the sludge. A newelement may be readily inserted in the casing for continued operation. As the lter is constructed to be supported against pressure by the casing, and where adjacent walls are formed to be supported by transmitting pressure, one against the other, any conventional oil filter pressure may be utilized with a relatively fragile ibrous element without any danger of rupturing the element which would allow impurities to pass therethrough and practically render the filter inoperative. While the single embodiment herein shown is` l 1. Anquid mtering unit comprising a base portion having passage means for the discharge of ltered liquid from the unit; and a tubular lter structure projecting endwise from said base portion for immersion in a body of liquid to be iil- .tered and including thin supple porous laterallydeectable, contiguously-opposed inner and outer self-supporting lter walls enveloping a zone therebetween for the reception of ilteredV liquid and extending to the base end of said structure where it is communicative with said discharge passage means, said walls being operable to pass and filter liquid from said body into said zone when the unit pressure of said liquid body on the outer sides of said walls suflciently exceeds the unit pressure within said zone; and supple .surface contouring means upon the inner side of at least one of said walls to react against the wall opposed thereto in opposition to the force exerted by the liquid body upon the outer sides of said walls, to limit collapse of said zone and the degree of constriction of its communication with the discharge e means.

2. vA liquid iiltering unit comprising a shelllike hollow wall structure having an outlet opening and including thin supple porous laterallydeiiectable, contiguousLv-opposed inner and outer side walls for immersion in a liquid and enclosing a zone therebetween, the porosity of said walls being such as to pass and iilter sai'd liquid inwardly therethrough whenl the unit pressure of such liquid upon the outer sides of said walls suiiiciently exceeds the unit pressure within the zone between said walls. the inner and opposed sides of said walls being pressable into contact each with the other for mutual reaction against the force imposed by the liquid upon the outer and opposite sides thereof, and supple interstice forming means permanently united with and distributed over the inner vside of at least one of said walls to cooperate with the inner side of the other wall in forming interstitial drainage,

passages through which the filtered liquid can reach said outlet opening while the side wal are pressed together as aforesaid.

3. A liquid filtering unit comprising an en'- velope. having. an outlet openingl and including said walls into a zone dened therebetween when the unit pressure of such liquid upon the outer sides thereof suihciently exceeds the unit pressure within said' zone, said side walls possessing suiiicient inherent strength for self-support in their contiguous relation when not subjected to such pressure of the liquid, the inner sides of said walls being pressable together for mutual reaction against the force imposed by the liquid upon the outer sides thereof,and the inner side of at least one of said walls being rough and thus cooperable with the innerside of the other wall in providing interstitial drainage passages through which theiiltered liquid can reach the outlet opening. .Y

4. A liquid filtering unit comprising a. hollowwall structure having an outlet opening and including thin supple porous laterally-deectable walls having outer and inner surfaces of which the latter are contiguously opposed to envelop a iiltered-iiuid-receiving zone within said wall structure, said hollow-wall structure -being immersible in a liquid wherein said walls because of their porosity serve to pass the liquid inwardly therethrough when a sumcient pressure difierential exists between that pressure of the liquid against the outer sides of said walls and that pressure within the zone between saidl walls, the inner and opposed sides of said walls being pressable into contact each with the other for mutual reaction against the force imposed by the liquid upon the outer sides thereof, and supple interstice-forming means permanentlyassociated with and distributed over the' inner sideof at least one of said walls to cooperate with the inner side of the otherwall in forming interstitial drainage passages through which the iiitered liquid can reach the outlet opening, and said passages having a combined flow capacity exceeding the combined dow capacity of the lpores in said walls to provide for escape of nl tered liquid to the outlet opening at a rate precluding back pressure in the zone between the walls attaining a. magnitude that would neutralize said pressure differential.

5. A hollow-wall ilter element including'opposed iiltering walls enclosing a thin filteredliquid-receiving zone provided with an outlet opening-and for operation with said walls in a collapsed condition wherein their opposed interior surfaces are pressed together by the pressure of an uniiltered liquid upon their exterior surfaces, said walls being porous to render them operable for filtering said liquid by passing it from their exterior surfaces inwardly therethrough into said zone under the force of said pressure, said walls also being self-supporting though being thin supple laterally-defiectable and correspondinglycontoured to cause such walls to assume the aforesaid collapsed condition wherein they are operable to react inwardly each against the other to prevent theirrupture by the pressure of the uniiltered liquid, and supple interstice-forming means upon and distributed over the interior surface of at least one of said walls to cooperate with the opposed interior surface of the other wall in forming interstitial drainage Apassages through which the filtered liquid can reach said outlet opening. 1

6. A iilter element comprising a filtering hollow-wall structure having a thin liquid-receiving zone therein and immersible in and collapsible by a liquid to be iiltered while passing such liquid inwardly through its walls into said thin zone and also having an outlet opening for the disv filtered liquid over charge of the ltered liquid from said zone, said wall structure including thin supple porous self -supportlng, laterally-deectable, correspondingly-contoured walls having interior and exterior surfaces of which the former are disposed oppositely and of 'which surfaces the latter are contiguously opposed at opposite sides of said thin zone, said porous walls being operable to filter and pass the unfiltered liquid inwardly therethrough as aforesaid upon the existence of a suiicient predominance of pressure of the unthe pressure in said space, the interior surfaces of said walls because of their aforesaid laterally-deectable character being pressable into contact each with the other for mutual reaction against the force applied oppositely upon the oppositely disposed exterior wall and to prevent rupture thereof by the predominant pressure of the unfiltered liquid. and supple porous interstice-forming means upon and distributed over the interior surface 'of at least one of said walls to cooperate with the opposed interior surface in forming interstitial drainage passages through which the filtered liquid can reach said 'outlet ope 7. For use in a filter casing containing a liquid to be filtered and having an outlet opening for filtering of such liquid and an inlet opening for replenishing the unfilteredliquid, a liquid iiitering unit comprising a hollow-wall structure including thin, supple, porous, self-supporting, laterally-deflectable, correspondingly-contoured lil - communicative walls enclosing a thin ilitered-liquid-reoeiving zone therebetween and having interior and exterior surfaces of which the former are disposed oppositely and of which the latter are contiguously opposed at opposite sides of said zone, said unit having an outlet opening for said Space and being mountable in the casing to block 'direct communication between the inlet and outlet casing openings, with the outlet opening for said zone with the casing outlet opening and with the exterior wall surfaces immersed in the unfiltered liquid, said porous walls being operable to filter the unfiltered liquid by passing it therethrough into said thin zone upon the ex-istence of a sufficient predominance of preasure in the unfiltered liquid over the pressure in said zone, the interior surfaces of said walls because of their aforesaid laterally-deflectable character being pressabie into contact each with the other for mutual exterior wall surfaces by the predominant pressure of the unfiltered liquid, and supple interstice-forming means associated with and dissages through which the nltered liquid can reach said outlet openings.

EARL C. WALKER. FOSTER. BUCK.'

reaction against the force CERTIFICATE oF coRREcTIoN. Patent no. 2,552,500. June 27, 19141;.

man c. um, ET AL.

s in the printed specification It is hereby certified.J thst error sppear Page 5 first of the above numbered patent requiring correction as follows: column, line 28, claim?, for the word filtering read filtered-f; and that the said Letters Patent should be read with this correction therein mat the same mq conform tothe record of the case in the Patent Office.

Signed'and sealed this 26th day of eptexsber', A. D. 19M.

Leslie Frazer (Seal) I Acting Commissioner of Patents. 

